1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is heat sinks for distributing a thermal load, including methods and apparatus that make use of heat sinks for distributing a thermal load.
2. Description of Related Art
Modern computer systems typically include a combination of hardware and software components, application programs, operating systems, processors, buses, memory, input/output devices, and so on. In order to deliver powerful computing resources, computer system designers must design powerful computer processors. Current computer processors, for example, are capable of executing billions of computer program instructions per second. Operating these computer processors requires a significant amount of power, and often such processors can consume over 100 watts. Consuming significant amounts of power generates a considerable amount of heat. Unless the heat is removed, heat generated by a computer processor may degrade or destroy the processor's functionality. To prevent the degradation or destruction of a computer processor, a computer architect may remove heat from the processor by using heat sinks, fans, heat pipes, or even refrigeration systems.